1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an input device, and particularly relates to an input device for generating and sending an input signal in accordance with acceleration occurring during operations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computers use various input devices for input and other operations. Common input device is a keyboard and a mouse. A mouse is a device that moves a pointer shown on a display device when a user moves the device body on the desk.
In recent years, with the spread of large displays device, demand for operating computers from remote places is growing. In such remote operations, input operations in the air are also demanded. In order to meet such demands, a three-dimensional input device is offered.
A three-dimensional input device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-132440 has a gyro and an acceleration sensor, etc., therein. The gyro measures angular speed of the device body, and the acceleration sensor measures acceleration of the device body. Based on these measurements, detection data corresponding to the movement of the device body in the air are generated. The detection data are transmitted to a computer by wireless or other means, so that the input operation is performed.
In a remote operation of a computer with use of an input device such as a mouse, wireless data transmission is required to avoid the use of a long cable connecting the mouse and the computer, since such a long cable might degrade usability and handiness. The input device of this type using wireless data transmission must have an internal power source for driving an internal circuit. As the internal power source, batteries have been commonly used.
A battery-driven input device requires battery replacement when the battery is exhausted. If the device is used frequently or used for a long time, the battery needs to be replaced during use. This makes the maintenance of the device troublesome.
A wireless mouse device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 6-59810 is provided with a generator and a secondary battery therein to eliminate the need for battery replacement. In this type of wireless mouse device, a generator is driven by the rolling of a ball and the generated power is stored in a secondary battery. This configuration, however, does not allow generation of a large amount of power.
A remote controller requiring no battery replacement disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-125722 is also provided with an internal generator. This remote controller generates power and transmits a command when a user rotates a ring.
According to such background, wireless input devices have mostly been driven by a battery, and require battery replacement when the battery is exhausted. If the devices are used frequently or used for a long time, the battery replacement might be required during use. This makes the device maintenance troublesome.